DENVER — Ski season is nearing its end in Colorado, but some are already planning for next season. Many of the big ski and snowboard passes are on sale.
One new study generated by a Denver-based insights company suggests some may want to think about whether they will get their money's worth if they purchase a season ski pass.
"Consumers are being bombarded from billboards to ads on our Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, we’re being reminded that the 2023-2024 ski season is coming up," said Tom Anderson, a partner at the Langston Co. "We need to make decisions about our passes, and so understanding this underlying psychological phenomenon that takes place in our brain as skiers and snowboarders is really interesting and can help us make better decisions when it comes to buying our passes for next year."
Anderson's company specializes in helping brands understand buyer behavior. In short, they research what consumers consume. In Colorado, for many, motivation is in the mountains.
"Colorado is unique in that it's really driven by passion and I think skiing and snowboarding plays a big part of that," Anderson added.
How big, is a question Anderson and his team wanted to answer. They conducted a national survey of 1,000 skiers and snowboarders and found something called "ski optimism."
"So as we get sunnier days and warmer days, there's a sense of nostalgia that is created among skiers and snowboarders for the good times that we've had throughout the season. That sense of nostalgia makes us think that we're gonna ski or snowboard as many days, if not more days, in the next season. But in reality, our data suggests that more than a third of skiers overestimate the number of days they're going to ski in the next year," Anderson explained.
"To be clear, ski passes overall are an incredible value to consumers but the important thing to know is consumers need to be realistic about how many days that they will actually ski in the next season and to not be overly optimistic or ambitious at this point in time when buying their passes," he added.
In short, Anderson said it's easy to get caught up in the feeling but his research is there to bring those catching air back down to earth.
"We should be realistic about how many days we're going to ski in the upcoming season," he said.
Anderson's survey also showed that skiers have more of a negative perception about snowboarders than the reverse. Anderson stated his findings showed snowboarders are actually quite at peace with skiers. But skiers that were surveyed feel snowboarders tend to be a little more dangerous on the slopes and reduce the overall level of safety.
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